Rotation Period (astronomy)
In astronomy, the rotation period or spin period of a celestial object (e.g., star, planet, moon, asteroid) has two definitions. The first one corresponds to the ''sidereal rotation period'' (or ''sidereal day''), i.e., the time that the object takes to complete a full rotation around its axis of rotation, axis relative to the background stars (inertial space). The other type of commonly used "rotation period" is the object's ''synodic rotation period'' (or ''solar day''), which may differ, by a fraction of a rotation or more than one rotation, to accommodate the portion of the object's orbital period around a star or another body during one day. Measuring rotation For solid objects, such as rocky planets and asteroids, the rotation period is a single value. For gaseous or fluid bodies, such as stars and giant planets, the period of rotation varies from the object's equator to its Poles of astronomical bodies, pole due to a phenomenon called differential rotation. Typically, the ...
[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]